The Story of Waterfall
by SarahJoyFanWing
Summary: Near the end of the War of SandWing Succession, a RainWing and a SeaWing leave their tribes, find each other, and fall in love. They have one dragonet, a girl named Waterfall, before they're killed by IceWings who find their cave, one of the Diamond Caves. The IceWings take Waterfall and raise her as one of them, not knowing that she has a secret talent. This is her story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, thanks for reading! This is my first fic, so when there are errors please feel free to respectfully let me know; I want to improve my writing. I promise to update as often as possible. Also, please tell me whether you'd like long, infrequent chapters, or short, frequent ones. Thanks! Here's the first chapter, where we're getting to know Waterfall's parents…**

Cormorant sighed in frustration. To most SeaWings, the day's battle had been just that-a battle. But he wasn't like all the rest; he had a loathing of war that he knew Queen Coral didn't approve of. Ever since she'd first seen him, although it was from a distance, Cormorant had felt her disgust with him. She gave him the look so many dragons did, the one that said, "You are a failure. You always were. You always will be. You'll never fit in. You'll never measure up. You'll never, ever, ever be a _real_ SeaWing."

Cormorant hated that look, and even though he saw it all the time, it especially hurt coming from his queen. Yes, he hated the war, fighting, and even Blister herself, but he was a loyal SeaWing, and he respected Her Majesty.

When his only brother was killed by an IceWing, he was devastated, of course, but he kept fighting out of love for his tribe. Less than a moon later, when his mother died in a battle with SkyWings, he tearfully pulled through it. His father was the one who helped him through everything. He was always strong, even though he suffered greatly, too. He was Cormorant's best friend in the world, and they loved each other in a way only they knew. If it weren't for his beloved father, Cormorant would have had nothing to live for.

And then his father was taken from him, too.

His beloved father, loved and respected by all who knew him, mercilessly slaughtered by a MudWing _dragonet_. And as if that wasn't tragic enough, that was when Cormorant started to get the aforementioned horrible looks. The other dragons of his tribe turned against him. He felt as if he didn't have a single friend in all of Pyrrhia.

That was the day that he decided to run away. He couldn't stand killing others' loved ones anymore, even those who were supposed to be his enemies. He knew all too well how they would feel.

Cormorant would run tomorrow morning, when no dragon would be awake or able to see him.

What he really needed was a friend.

* * *

Jaguar smiled to herself, her scales starbursting with bright yellow. She had just come up with the perfect plan. Because no dragon in the entire rainforest liked her, she would leave for a while, see what she found on the continent by herself, then come back and see how relieved everyone was to see her again. Another reason for her escape was that Jaguar, unlike the other RainWings, had noticed that the dragons of her tribe were disappearing, one by one, into thin air. She didn't want to be next.

Could disappearing into thin air be as bad as her current life? She wasn't going to stick around and find out.

Poor Jaguar had always had a dream that she would become Queen of the RainWings. However, as she grew up, that seemed less and less likely. She had thought she could make the RainWings less lazy, but she doubted they would even listen to her.

Jaguar stopped sitting and thinking, because she kind of hated it when her tribe mates did that. She decided that she would leave early the next day, while everyone was still asleep.

So it was set. Jaguar didn't have any fraction of an idea what she was getting herself into.

What she really needed was a friend.

 **Hope you all liked it! Next chapter there'll be a little more action, probably with the two of them running away from their respective tribes and finding each other. I'll update as soon as I can. Once again, please tell me your preferences and what I can do better. I'd also like to give a shout out to my first follower, Celestialskyfire! Thanks everyone!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey all, here's Chapter 2, where we're still getting to know Cormorant and Jaguar. Because I haven't yet gotten any reviews regarding chapter length, I'll keep on writing pretty short chapters so that I can update more often. Thanks!**

Yawning, Jaguar slipped the last mango in her talonmade leaf bag. She'd stayed up a little late sewing and packing it with fruit, of course, and a sketchy, long-forgotten map of Pyrrhia. She had found that map when she was exploring near the queens' pavilion as a young dragonet, and always had a feeling she would need it one day. Jaguar was more clever and more passive about giving up sleep than any of the other RainWings, and both of those traits were proving to come in handy on this occasion. As she flopped down in her indoor hammock and began of try to sleep, she hazily thought of the rest of the big, bad continent that she'd only ever heard of in the oldest dragons' tales. Did IceWings really breathe freezing air? Could MudWings really hold their breath for an hour? Were there really thousands of islands in the Kingdom of the Sea? What if a SkyWing patrol found her? She wouldn't stand a chance! What if-

She finally was asleep.

* * *

Cormorant hadn't told anyone about his plans. He didn't have anyone to tell, and if he did, he wouldn't be running away. He felt slightly guilty, as if he were a moody dragonet upset with his parents. _His parents_. He slowly lay down on his stone bed, lined with seaweed, and looked sadly across the sparse underwater bedroom at his satchel. The simple bag had served him well all through his years of school and military training, and now it was going with out of the Kingdom of the Sea, to hide from the war. He planned to leave around midnight, so the beginning of his journey would be lit by the moons.

He was exhausted, nervous, and sad most of all, but eventually the exhaustion took over and he entered the world of light sleep without dreams.

* * *

The next morning, Jaguar leaped lightly out of her hammock, excited, but undoubtedly her nerves were racked. She slipped her bag loosely around her neck, and after peering all around to make sure there were no other dragons out, she crept out of her hut and glided silently down to the forest floor. She was going to walk until she was plenty far away from the RainWing village, because the village was in the canopy, and with her camouflage and all the vegetation between the others and herself, she was very unlikely to be spotted. Jaguar was glad that her bag was the same colors as the leaves, so it wouldn't be that noticeable from a distance, even though up close it would look like it was floating.

She had barely gone anywhere when she saw a slight shimmer in the woods ahead, and a second later another RainWing vaporized, looking very confused and a little...angry? That was unusual. Jaguar could tell he-a dragonet of about seven-had seen her. Filled with dread, she stepped up and faced him, knowing she looked suspicious.

"So," he hissed, "what are you doing here, _Jaguar_?"

* * *

As he began to wake up, as early as he'd planned, Cormorant remembered that this day was special, because he had decided to make it be. Although he was still nervous, he was able to feel excitement for the journey ahead-even the life ahead. One thing was for sure: even though he respected his tribe, he never planned to return.

Was he sad to leave? Yes. Cormorant knew he would miss swimming in the clear blue ocean, eating freshly caught whales, sharks, fish, seabirds, and shrimp, and hiding to daydream in the caves near where the Summer Palace used to be. But deep down, he knew that if he came out and told Her Majesty what he thought of the war, he would be banished from this beautiful kingdom anyway. But if he ran away, he didn't think anyone would notice or care that he was gone.

With that last sad thought, Cormorant decidedly slung his satchel over his head and shoulders, took one last look around his pitiful living space, and swam carefully out of the outskirts of the dark SeaWing city without looking back. Cormorant didn't meet anyone on his way out, and if anyone saw him, they didn't try to stop him from leaving. As he swam away, practically a fugitive already, he felt as if no dragon in the world cared whether he lived or died.

Maybe they didn't, _yet._

* * *

Jaguar took a step back, then another, and nearly crashed into a tree. She thought she saw a spark of amusement flash in the other dragon's eyes.

"H-how do you know my name?" She tried to keep her voice from shaking, but it was futile.

"The RainWings aren't a large tribe; you know that. I know every single dragon's name. But you haven't answered my question yet."

It was surprising how authoritative he sounded, even though he was so young. Stabilizing herself against the tree, Jaguar retorted, "I will not tell you until I know what business you have with me!"

"Well, well. I can see now why everyone else says you're different."

Silence. Jaguar narrowed her eyes at the younger dragon.

"I suppose I might as well tell you. I have an inkling you'll kill me if I don't," he sighed, but his eyes were mocking her in a thousand different ways. "I'm Queen Splendor's brother, Prince Chimpanzee. Have you seen her lately? She's missing. You know, it _has_ been kind of nice without her..."

Caught a little by surprise, Jaguar stammered, "uh, no. And if you must know everything, I'm running away. I'm quite excited, frankly, to rid my innocent self of dragons like you who hate me."

"I didn't hate you until you suggested it. Good idea," Chimpanzee mused, and before Jaguar could respond, he had leapt at her and wrestled her to the ground, and she was pinned. He was much stronger than he looked. He bared his longest fangs and dug his claws into her shoulders, ripping her bag off from around her neck. She struggled, but he whapped her snout with the end of his long prehensile tail. Even though it stung, Jaguar put the pain aside, realizing that for whatever reason, he wanted to kill her. Hoping for once that someone would notice her, she screamed as loud as she possibly could.

* * *

Once he was out of sight of the SeaWings' city, Cormorant hid in a cave by the ruins of the Summer Palace for the last time. He needed to plan his journey. His first thought was to stay near the coast at all times, so he could hide more easily, but then it occurred to him that he would be more likely to be caught by other SeaWing spies. Cormorant decided to go first to the rainforest and see what he found, because from what he'd heard, the RainWings wouldn't care, there would be thick foliage to hide him, and he knew for sure that it was fairly close to the ocean. He soon exited the cave with his bag, and left the Kingdom of the Sea without looking back.

Cormorant flew low along the coast for a few hours. Once he saw a MudWing troop coming towards him, gesturing for him to hover so they could talk. But they had no way of knowing that he was no longer their enemy, so he dove into the ocean and hid until they gave up looking.

Cormorant was just entering the rainforest as the sun came up, and as he flew deeper, it became apparent that he couldn't fly very much farther because of the thickly growing trees and vegetation. He began to walk along the forest floor, but not long after, he suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream echo through the forest! Leaping back in surprise and fear, Cormorant spotted to catch his breath and think. That scream came from a _dragon._ He set off in the direction of the scream, which was hardly off of his path anyway, but he was worried about what he would find. All of a sudden, he burst through the trees into a clearing and saw a RainWing dragoness lying on her back on the ground, and with the red and green warring on her scales she was obviously terrified. She was pinned down by another (surprisingly) much smaller RainWing, who had his fangs bared and looked like he was about to kill her.

Without a second thought as to who either of them might be, he flung himself at the dragon on top, knocking him to the ground and grabbing his horns so his head was stuck in the dirt. Sitting on the other dragon's back and pushing his head into the ground, but still trying not to hurt him, he looked over at the dragoness. She was about his age, which was ten years old, and defiantly terrified anger blazed in her eyes.

But she quickly composed herself and sat up, then said cheerfully, "Well, thanks for saving me. That was unprecedented. I'm Jaguar," There was a pause, then she gestured to the RainWing Cormorant was using as a seat and cried, "Can you believe he just _attacked_ me?"

"Um," Cormorant stammered, "He did?"

"You speak as if I'm not right here! You know, you"-he glared pointedly at Jaguar-"are not the only one who can call painfully loudly for help," The other RainWing managed to retort before Jaguar could answer. She instead came over and whispered in Cormorant's ear, "He thinks he's wonderful. Let's knock him out and get away, then I'll tell you who he says he is and what he did."

Cormorant was awed by her complete trust in him, a complete stranger from a different tribe, so soon after being attacked by a dragon who seemed like he would have not been scary at all in different circumstances. He saved his surprise and his many questions for another time, though, because at this time, his seat was screaming. Without thinking about what he was about to do, he balled his talon and hit the dragon beneath him as hard as he could in the back of the head.

* * *

"Run, idiot! They'll never believe us if we say he attacked us!" Jaguar screamed. For some reason, the mysterious Seawing who'd saved her life was staring in horror at Chimpanzee's limp, unconscious body. She shook his shoulder with all her might, hissing, " _Run!_ I can hear backup coming!" He stuttered, "But...but...look what I did!

With a sigh that she regretted two seconds later because it completely emptied her lungs, Jaguar heaved him up by his shoulder as high as she could, before realizing she didn't care if he stayed and got-oh, wait. She cared because he knew her name, and would undoubtedly tell whoever came to the so-called prince's rescue. She decided to fly away anyway. But then, with relief, she realized he was following behind her, and they both flew away and out of the rainforest as quickly as they could. Neither of them said anything; they were saving their breath for flying. They had an unspoken agreement to stay together until they'd left the rainforest, and hide for the night as far away as they could.

After a few hours of strenuous flying, the two dragons landed in a small cave on the side of Jade Mountain opposite the rainforest. No RainWings seemed to be following them.

They were able to catch a couple of chickens, which they shared. Neither of them had ever hunted on land, but both of them were clever and learned fast, and chickens aren't the smartest creatures ever to walk on Pyrrhia. Jaguar had never had meat before either, but she liked it almost as well as fruit, and that was good, because she didn't have an infinite supply of fruit. At least she'd had her bag on when they flew out of the rainforest-she was positive the map she brought would come in talony.

Even though the sun had barely gone down, they were both so exhausted that they decided to go to sleep right then and exchange stories in the morning. It was cooler in the mountains than either of them was used to, so they decided to curl up pretty close together. "Thanks again for saving my life," Jaguar mumbled.

"You're welcome. I wish we hadn't had to knock out that other RainWing, though. I left the Kingdom of the Sea so I could stop hurting other dragons, you know? I didn't mean to have a mini meltdown back there. My name is Cormorant, by the way, and I'm sorry I'm telling you that a bit late." The SeaWing answered, and Jaguar tried and failed to stifle the thought that in the fading light, his scales glowed dimly, shifting smoothly against hers. For a while after he fell asleep, she watched his chest rising and falling as he breathed steadily, and she wondered if she had fallen into the trap called _Love_ , the one she'd only ever heard about...until now.

With conflicting but hopeful thoughts in her head, she drifted off into a long night of much-needed sleep.

* * *

Cormorant's head snapped up. Where was he? Suddenly he saw, through the dark, the young RainWing dragoness whose life he'd saved, lying in a deep, peaceful slumber next to him. That was when he remembered the events of the day. He was utterly calm right then, and he suddenly realized he was staring at her. She really was beautiful. He gently stroked the scales on her side, and laid one half-folded wing over her body protectively. He rested his head on his front talons and fell asleep once more.

 **Is that romantic enough for everyone? When will they find out about each other's feelings? I know their relationship is moving along more quickly than it would in real life, but I don't want to spend too much time with chapters where Waterfall hasn't even been hatched yet. Please review! How's the chapter length, storyline, etc.? I also accidentally hid a pun in this chapter! "[Jaguar] was very unlikely to be spotted." Jaguars are spotted, Haha! Sorry for the extreme and utter lameness.** **Also, where it says the map would come in talony, it means handy, but dragons have talons, not hands. Thanks, everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all peoples (I know that's bad grammar, but it's fun to type), thank you for still reading! Please give feedback, and I hope you enjoy it!**

As Jaguar woke up, she found that she was still tired, but feeling a lot better anyway. Some of her feelings from the night before were gone without a trace, although she still thought Cormorant was kind of cute. That might have just been because he'd saved her life. She could see him outside their little cave, on the side of a cliff, trying to get a spark to touch a meager pile of leaves he had apparently gathered. Jaguar couldn't help but notice his tenacity. Neither of the two dragons could breathe fire, but it sure would have come in handy on a chilly morning like this one.

Jaguar slowly stood up and stretched. That was when she remembered being vaguely aware of Cormorant's wing stretched over her back during the night, and a small shiver went through her. Maybe her romantic thoughts weren't just a trick of the night, but still, she couldn't help but feel that the other RainWings would find her sudden love as just another reason to despise her. It wasn't that she was too young, she was nine and a half years old, but she'd only just met Cormorant.

She shook off her premature, foreign thoughts and stepped out of the cave.

Instantly, she was blinded by the sun. She hasn't realized it could be this bright outside the rainforest, and she guessed that it seemed even brighter to her SeaWing companion; because he had likely grown up in underwater caves. She stepped up behind him, groggily mumbling a "good morning". He still hadn't had any success with making a fire.

"I know it's not too terribly cold this morning, but we'll want to cook food, if we can catch any. If you don't mind trying," Cormorant said awkwardly. "It's a shame neither of us have fire."

"OK, thanks for trying. It'll be fine if we can't start a fire, though, because I still have a bit of fruit, and we _could_ eat it raw." There was a bit of an awkward pause, then she blurted, "Thank you for keeping me warm last night."

Jaguar regretted saying that as soon as she said it, even though she really was grateful. She could've sworn she saw the tiniest bit of color rise to Cormorant's blue-green face, and all of his glowing stripes flickered just a little. She was sure that her own scales were red, yellow, and white with embarrassment. And when she looked down at herself, she saw that she was right-her scales were bright yellow with starbursts of reddish pink. Cormorant didn't really seem too bothered anymore, though, as he had a spark of amusement in his green eyes, trying to outdo the blazing fire of embarrassment that was already dominating them.

So lost in thought was Jaguar that she didn't realize Cormorant had said something to her. He was staring at her expectantly. "What?" She inquired.

"I said, you're welcome. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable last night," When Jaguar shook her head he sat on his back talons and tilted his head at her. "Well, I obviously can't start a fire, but we can try again later. Do you want to try to hunt? We did pretty well yesterday,"

"Sure, let's go in two different directions and see what we can find, then I'll meet you back here before too long," Jaguar replied, already pointing her steps toward the outskirts of the Rainforest Kingdom.

Did she miss it already? Yes, but not one of the dragons in it had been kind to her. She was going to see whether anyone was still looking for the two of them, and if the RainWings even knew about Cormorant.

But for some reason there were many dragons nearby, and she didn't stick around to be caught by them, because even when she was camouflaged, there was still a chance. She didn't find out anything at all.

* * *

As Cormorant began to shuffle along the mountainside in search of prey, his mind wandered to Jaguar, the RainWing dragoness whose life he'd saved. He thought that maybe he wasn't really in love with her, maybe he was just protective of her for some reason. But why would that be? He was almost positive that, deep down inside him, he wanted to be more than friends with her.

A mountain leopard cub padded out of a cave underneath him, which must have been its den. He hadn't realized there were other fairly large animals so close to his and Jaguar's cave. Without thinking about the fact that there might be others nearby, he leapt down and killed the cub with one quick blow of a powerful webbed talon.

Immediately after Cormorant killed it, a roar echoed from inside the cave, and a much bigger cat, a she-leopard, probably the cub's mother, pounced on Cormorant from inside the cave! It was almost as big as him, and much stronger and much more familiar with fighting on land. The vast majority of the fighting he'd done was either in the air or underwater. In all the fluff of the huge cat's fur, it was impossible to claw it, and as it cuffed him on the side of his head, Cormorant could've sworn he saw stars. He fell on the ground, bleeding from one ear, and was about to give up on life. Why should he live instead of this poor cat whose cub had just been killed? He knew all too well how it felt!

That was when Jaguar appeared out of nowhere, and shooting what looked and smelled like _venom_ in all her glory. Since when did RainWings have venom? That was news. The now-terrified leopard fled back into the cave and out of sight before any of the acidic-looking venom could hit her. Cormorant found it in him to be glad that she had escaped unscathed, because the mother had already lost her baby, and she didn't deserve to die. She had only attacked the SeaWing because he killed her cub first. Cormorant was especially glad now that he'd decided not to return to the Kingdom of the Sea anytime soon, because now he had powerful information that could be used for evil in the war. So, he forgot momentarily about all the pain he was in...and about Jaguar, who was now looking down at him with a nervous look on her face. "Are you okay? What were you thinking? You could have been killed! Who would save me then, if I got attacked by another stupid RainWing prince dragonet?"

Cormorant thought it was pretty cute how worked up she got when he was in danger. "I'm really fine. My ear's stopped bleeding, and what's that you say about being attacked by a prince? Thanks for saving me. Did you catch anything? Oh, and speaking of RainWings other than you, there are some right there, coming right towards us, so do you think we should hurry back to our cave?"

Was it just him, or had she been staring at him? "Um, no. No time now. This is going to sound weird, but fold your wings and lay flat on the ground. I'll camouflage myself and lay on top of you, because believe me, I am awesome at that. The camouflage part, I mean." Cormorant obeyed her. He and Jaguar both shivered a little as she climbed onto his back. He closed his eyes, willing the searching eyes of the RainWings to pass over the two of them. If they were caught, not only would they be in trouble for hurting another dragon (especially if he really was the RainWing prince! He really needed to ask Jaguar about that), but he was sure whoever came across them would be perplexed and suspicious about their discovery avoidance techniques.

He heard wingbeats not far above his head, muffled because of Jaguar's wings, which were spread over his. Cormorant also heard-and felt-her heart beating. His own was starting to speed up, too, as he was beginning to be able to feel the air stirred by the surveying dragons. Had they noticed a slight change in the rocks, or the pile of sticks for the fire close by, or even the dead young cat lying on the ground a few feet away? Or was Cormorant just being paranoid? He was good at that.

Finally Jaguar whispered in his ear, "I think they're gone, but we should eat in a place where we can't be seen from the sky and then get out of here, just in case they've seen us. Where should we go to?"

"Not the Rainforest Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Sea, obviously," Cormorant thought aloud as she climbed back off of him. "Maybe the Sky Kingdom? Or the Mud Kingdom? Actually, SkyWings are really mean. They would probably kill us if they found us. And you hate mud. Right?"

"Yeah. Maybe the Kingdom of Sand...no, too dry. I wish we could find the Night Kingdom! It must be wonderful, but eh, everyone would read our minds and then go report where we are to the RainWings. They're mean like that-oh! But maybe they're mean to the RainWings more. Wait no, I'm a RainWing. I shouldn't be hoping that they're mean to us. And that's a big maybe. Oh, sorry, am I talking too quickly? Well, let's just eat our baby whatever-that-is and hide somewhere. That sounds weird! By the way, I didn't catch anything."

"Wait," Cormorant said. He'd just gotten an idea. He hated it, but it was good. "You're not going to like this, but...we haven't said anything about the Ice Kingdom. That's the last place they'd expect a RainWing to go, and I don't think they'd expect a SeaWing to particularly like living in an icy wasteland, either."

Jaguar thought for a moment. "Good bad idea. I hate it. Even if the dragons searching for us somehow find out that we're there, they would likely die in the attempt of finding us, or not even try."

"Oh, right. We'd freeze to death. What _are_ we going to do?" Cormorant was on the verge of tears, surprisingly. Would he have to leave Jaguar? The thought made him unbearably sad.

He had no idea that Jaguar was having almost the exact same thoughts.

* * *

An image flashed through Jaguar's head, the memory of her laying on top of Cormorant. She hoped she wouldn't have to say goodbye to him forever. Then she thought back on that incident and realized: she had been protecting him with camouflage. But they could share body heat! They had done that the night before, and...it had felt really good to be close to him.

"Well, if you don't mind, we could sort of, uh, hmm, kind of, like, um, hug each other. In our sleep. We, uh, wouldn't be cold anymore, at least,"

Cormorant agreed more readily than she had expected him to, and they went into their cave to dig into their catch. The two of them finished it quickly, and ate most of the rest of Jaguar's fruit as well.

It was still morning, and so Cormorant and Jaguar set off, flying out to the ocean and then along the shore. They flew all day, and when they stopped for the day, the sand was beginning to turn into dirt, and the air was wetter, but colder too. They found a rocky, pokey outcropping of dirty sand to settle down for the night in. It wasn't very nice, but it was sheltered and they had each other, so it was like heaven. Later that evening, they exchanged stories as they sat together watching the sunset.

When Cormorant told Jaguar how he'd lost his parents at a young age, she remarked, "I can sort of relate, because RainWings never keep track of who our families are, except for when we mate. I'm so sorry that your family is gone from Pyrrhia. But you'll see them again, I'm sure of it."

"Thank you, Jaguar," Cormorant murmured, and he slowly slid a wing around her shoulders. "You know, you're-" But then he stopped abruptly and folded his wing. "Sorry, I, um, just thought you might be cold." Jaguar didn't say anything for a few moments, then she leaned her head on his shoulder.

She practically whispered, "I _am_ cold, and I'll try to finish that sentence. 'You know, you're the last dragon still alive who has ever cared about my well being, what I like, _who I love_ , the last one who lets me touch them when I need physical contact, who treats me as a friend rather than an enemy just because of the color (or all the colors) of my scales. You're the only one I know who is kind, tries to understand, takes me seriously, and yet will laugh with me, but never at me...' That is exactly how I feel about you, but along with much, much more." She whispered the last sentence in his ear, and as she'd spoken, he wrapped both of his wings around her again, tenderly, and she rested her talon on his chest. They twined tails, and though they were different, they felt for one moment very much the same.

"I love you, Jaguar, and I'm sure I always will."

"Cormorant, I love you, too."

They stayed in that position for a long time even after the three moons rose in the starry sky, as they finished sharing their stories, then lay down together for the best night's sleep either of them had ever had, even though it was cold and the two of them were both far from what any other dragons thought should be their homes.

* * *

In the morning, the two of them swiftly consulted Jaguar's map, and were on their way due north.

That afternoon, Cormorant and Jaguar found a secluded cave, facing away from the mainland, but beautiful and abundant with nearby animals. They worked until dark to patch almost all of the entrance with snow, to keep warmth in, then used packed snow to make a snug, soft, rounded nest-like bed and a place for their bags. Next they quickly killed a few seals and a polar bear, and skinned them, lining the icy bed with the skins.

Cormorant and Jaguar ate well that night, and there was lots of meat to spare. It was cold, that was for sure, but they both knew that they were in for a good life. Together.

 **Yay! How was it? Did I take too long to update? If so, I'm sorry, and I'll try to be faster. NEXT CHAPTER WE WILL SORT OF MEET WATERFALL (AS A DRAGONET)! But Cormuar (Cormorant x Jaguar) will also die. Sorry. I hope you guys love them as much as I do! Again, please review with courteous feedback. Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, are you excited? I AM! We finally get to meet Waterfall...and some of the IceWings! [I will not mention the sad thing that will happen in this chapter] Thanks for all of your reviews, but don't stop with them now! Here's chapter four...**

Cormorant and Jaguar had been together in their little cave for almost a year, and their first egg was about to hatch. It lay on its side in the middle of the cave, next to the bed. The only reason the egg wasn't in the bed was that Cormorant was paranoid about one of them stepping on it. But, because it needed to stay warm, Jaguar always stayed next to it, usually curled around it protectively.

Cormorant hunted all the time, because he could withstand the cold better than any RainWing could, and he was able to go in the water and hunt for a while without freezing. The ocean was close to their cave, about half a mile away, so between that and the fact that he had Jaguar and their egg, he felt right at home. Jaguar was happy, too, because she hasn't been dependant on sun time even when she lived in the rainforest, so it was fine that she couldn't have it now. There was plenty of light, too-the snow around the entrance to their cave had long since turned to ice, and it was basically a giant window. The sun was often blinding, shining on the snow in the mornings.

Sometimes, when the Aurora Borealis lit up the sky, the two dragons would go outside, on the little ledge outside their cave, together, and cradle their egg between them. That was the perfect ending to any day, good or bad.

Cormorant and Jaguar had gotten there when the sun rose and set every day, and the six months of darkness were especially difficult-and cold. But they pulled through, and now they were in the time of year when it was always day.

Their egg was very close to hatching-it was heavy and often moved in its nest. They could see a small shape wiggling inside it sometimes.

So we can see, their life was wonderful, if a little cold.

Until one day, an outpost was built by the IceWings not even a mile from their cave. The cave was facing away from it, but with the outpost so close, Cormorant and Jaguar knew they would soon have to leave. Cormorant had to take so much care when he was hunting that he had to go farther and farther away, and it was when he was hunting that he was seen one day by a nearby patrol of IceWings. Cormorant didn't know they had seen him, and so he led them straight back to the cave, with a couple of especially juicy seals. He soared into the entrance, to see Jaguar bending over the nest, exclaiming, "It's hatching! It's hatching, oh, Cormorant, our beautiful egg is hatching!" Cormorant came over to the nest and pressed against her in silent ecstasy.

A hairline crack appeared along one edge, then spread across the whole surface, and soon the whole egg splintered and in the nest before them was a lovely girl dragonet, all of her scales faintly glowing, breathing softly as she sat in a pile of sparkly eggshells.

The dragonet was perfect-every scale of her. Her eyes were the exact same deep green as her father's, and her tiny horns a faint pink like her mother's, with an elegant curve to them. She had the body shape of a SeaWing, but slimmer, with a long, thin tail. Her scales were a light blue, but as her parents watched, they became dark blue, dark green, then turquoise, and finally exploded in all colors imaginable, every color of the rainbow and many more, before fading into a light, minty green which faded to orange-pink around the edges. Even her claws, horns, and eyes changed color.

"Oh, Jaguar, she's lovely! I'm so proud of us!" Cormorant cried.

"Me, too,"Jaguar said contentedly.

"Let's name her Waterfall," Both of them said at the same time, then laughed and smiled at each other. Jaguar scooped up Waterfall in one wing, and she and Cormorant just gazed at Waterfall in wonder and love. But the peace was broken when a cold voice came from the front of the cave: "Just what is going on here?"

The proud parents whipped around to see four IceWings, and tried to stammer out an answer, before realizing they hadn't really done anything wrong. "We were not accepted in our own tribes, so we ran away and found each other, and in order to not be found by dragons who were trying to kill us for no reason, we came to live here. We haven't hurt any of you, and we hardly eat anything. I'd never even seen an IceWing before, so it's obvious you all don't-or at least didn't-care about this part of your territory. We didn't hurt anything or anyone."

"I see you've been here a long while, to have gotten that many furs," The head IceWing observed, obviously trying to keep his cool while intimidating Cormorant and Jaguar. "Exactly how long have you been living here?"

"Well, about a year, I think," Jaguar managed to say, surprised that the IceWings hadn't killed them yet. A hiss from Cormorant told her she should probably have lied. The IceWing bristled. "Well, we can't have that, can we? What would happen if every outcast in Pyrrhia lived here? You have ten seconds to get out of here, or you'll pay with your lives!"

"But...but..."

"OUT!"

Jaguar shrieked, "Cormorant, we can't leave, Waterfall will freeze!" She turned to the furious IceWings. "We will not leave. Either let us stay, or we will die, here, together." She was calm, and Cormorant nodded, looking protectively toward Waterfall, and shielding her and Jaguar with his body.

"You leave us no choice. If that's the way you must have it, then, ATTACK!" All four dragons leaped at the other two, and within seconds, Cormorant and Jaguar were dead. They had died nobly, had gone down fighting for their dragonet. Jaguar's scales were a blank white, and Cormorant's snout was frozen in a snarl. He had run away so he wouldn't have to fight, but that ended up being how he died.

But it was for dragons he loved, not at the expense of dragons he loved.

But then the IceWings seemed to notice Waterfall for the first time and the leader, Iceberg, muttered, "Oh, no. This dragonet will die! We probably should have just escorted those others out of our kingdom. Even if we had someone to take care of her, I mean, she'll freeze to death within hours. I'm amazed she hasn't already. What have we done? What are we going to do?"

The second-in-command responded calmly, "It'll be fine. We'll raise her as one of our own; she'll be like a secret weapon. Here, let's wrap her in some of these skins and take her to Queen Glacier, Her Majesty will know what to do, and just look at this dragonet. She's strong, she's not even shivering. We'll find a way to keep her."

"Thanks, Blizzard. Your optimism always helps. Did they say her name was Waterfall?" Iceberg asked. He gestured to Cormorant's and Jaguar's bodies, a little glumly. When the others nodded, he acknowledged them and set to work wrapping Waterfall in the biggest sealskin, then a pelt from a young polar bear. The other three, Blizzard, Penguin, and Tern, bundled up the rest of the furs under orders from Blizzard, but left Waterfall's parents' bags, because they didn't have anything useful. After glancing at the map, they quickly disregarded it.

Finally they dragged the bodies outside, as gently as possible, and buried them in snow. Then, carrying Waterfall and the furs, the four of them set of in the direction of the palace.

After about two hours, the spires of the palace came into view, soaring high into the sky, and sparkling like perfectly cut diamonds. Within another half hour, they had set down the bundles at the palace gate and were being escorted to Queen Glacier to tell her their news.

A few minutes passed, then the two guards stopped and rapped smartly on a set of tall double doors. A soft call answered them, and the doors slowly opened, revealing a cavernous, brightly lit room. Queen Glacier was seated gracefully on a ledge of ice in the middle, with windows on all sides and diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other jewels embedded in the throne and walls, even the floor in some places. Everything shimmered with light and cleanliness. Of course, it helped that almost everything was made of ice.

Queen Glacier sat up a little bit straighter and said, "Welcome. I see you four have brought a visitor. What news do you bring, and how does it concern me?"

Iceberg bowed, taking Waterfall from Blizzard and holding her so the queen could see her. "Your Majesty," he began, "we were on patrol when we saw a SeaWing hunting seals. We followed him back to a cave, where he joined a RainWing to watch an egg hatch that appeared to be theirs. We confronted them, and they refused to leave, so...we killed them. They said that they had been there for about a year, and they had saved many skins from prey such as seals and polar bears, so we took those and the dragonet, if only to save her life. Here she is, Your Majesty, a hybrid RainWing-SeaWing about three hours old. Her name is Waterfall. What would you have us do with her, Your Majesty?"

Queen Glacier sat and thought for a few moments, then politely ordered, "Take the skins off, please, just for a moment." When Iceberg did, the queen remarked, "She seems strong and spirited, and her lineage will most likely show many unique and useful powers. Wrap her back up. Take her to the nursery, and please return to your post. You all did well, but if something like this ever happens again, do everything in your power to avoid death. We have enough already, with the war. Try to bring any intruders here so that we can interrogate them. We'll find a good use for the majority of the furs, but take one bundle with you to give to the nurses who are to take care of this dragonet. Go now."

Iceberg, Blizzard, Penguin, and Tern bowed again and left the room. They dropped off Waterfall at the nursery, with special orders to keep her warm, and returned to their remote outpost, wondering which powers would manifest in the mysterious hybrid dragonet.

* * *

Meanwhile, Waterfall was in the nursery, already playing with the other dragonets, who were all IceWings. But they were so young that none of them cared. The nurses all smiled and laughed, which wasn't a common IceWing thing, but Waterfall had a strange sort of grace that showed even when she fell down. After a while, she yawned and fell asleep in a corner, and a few IceWing dragonets came over and laid down next to her. She was going to have an interesting life.

 **Thank you, everyone! I'm so sorry that Jaguar and Cormorant had to die! I was writing this and it hit me like, _OH, I have to make them die now,_ and it almost made me cry, but I was writing at school (don't worry, I had free time) and I didn't want people to think I'm weirder than I really am. So anyway, here's the update, and next chapter we'll really start to get to know Waterfall: how she's been accepted among the IceWings, what she knows about her parents, and, you guessed it (probably), WHAT HER POWERS ARE. But not her secret power yet, although there is one that rides off of another hypothesis of mine. Well, thanks again, and PLEASE REVIEW! Everything and everyone is awesome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Now we're in the main part of the story! Sorry it took me a while to update. Starting now, everything will be from Waterfall's point of view, and in the present tense. Yay! Here's what Waterfall is like...**

2 years later

I squeal with delight as I glide skillfully through the thick, twisting branches of the rainforest. But suddenly a black dart flies past my ear and I dodge, right into the path of another dart. This one hits me, and I plummet to the rainforest floor and black out, fast asleep. When I wake up, I am back in the Ice Kingdom, lying on my bed of skins. I don't open my eyes, but just think. I always do this.

Life is good here, that's for sure. But I still have dreams of places where I've never been, but I could have-maybe even should have-grown up. The rainforest, the ocean...not to complain, but even though everything is sparkly and bright and beautiful here, it's a little monochrome. From what I've heard, in both the Kingdom of the Sea and the Rainforest Kingdom, everything is colorful and warm. I know what warmth is, because I have it in me. You see, I'm not an IceWing. My mom was a RainWing and my dad was a SeaWing, but they're both dead now and I guess it doesn't matter anyway. I was told they were criminals who ran away from their tribes to be together, but they lived in a cave in this kingdom and froze to death. A few of the guards found their bodies and me, when I wasn't even an hour old, and took me back, saving my life. That's what everyone told me anyway, but I always get the feeling they're not quite telling the truth.

But I was saying, I have warmth, but I can't feel cold, at least I haven't yet, because I was laid and hatched here. There are some colors I'd have never seen, too, like red, yellow, and orange, but I've seen them because of ME.

What are my powers, as a SeaWing-RainWing hybrid? Well, I can camouflage myself, but my scales don't change colors with my moods. Thank goodness. Doesn't that sound horrible? I have a really strong tail, and I can shoot small amounts of venom, but not very far. I can see in the dark really well, and hold my breath for about an hour, like MudWings. I also have a power that I attribute to being born here in the Ice Kingdom: I can breathe frostbreath. Everyone thinks that only IceWings can do this, but I've concluded that anyone can if they're born where it's cold enough. And that brings up another question. If an IceWing were born somewhere other than here, would they not be able to? If a non-hybrid dragon was hatched here, would they have frostbreath? Would this only happen with some dragons or some tribes? Is it a hybrid thing? Well, anyway, all the IceWings know that I can do this, because one day they took me into a laboratory to test me and find out what powers I have. Everyone already knew I have camouflage, because I use it when I'm playing with the other dragonets. They're awesome, by the way.

So in the lab, they told me to pretend there was a ball in the back of my mouth, and to take a few deep breaths. Then they hit me on the back, hard, and without warning. They told me later that it was to "awaken my powers to their full strength." Suddenly a few crystals of ice came flying out of my mouth and almost froze one of my front talons! Everyone was shocked when they found out, of course, because I have no IceWing ancestry. But they've accepted me pretty well, and I like it here. All my friends and everyone I know are IceWings, and I've never even seen a dragon from another tribe because they really don't want to invade our freezing place. Wait, when did I start considering it _ours_ , not _theirs_?

But that reminds me, I should say I've met the queen. A couple days after the testing to find my powers, she had me come tell her whatever news there was about the subject. She was really pleased, and she kind of seemed like she was planning something. But she's never told me anything about a secret plan, and that was a long time ago, so maybe I was imagining things, or she forgot, or it's none of my business.

I slowly open my eyes, and my room comes into focus. It's in the palace, so the queen can keep an eye on me, so they can do tests on me, and so I'm comfortable and don't want to run away. There's a slab of ice, which I sleep on, and it has a colossal pile of furry fluffiness. I really like my room, because it's simple but beautiful. I also have a moon globe; I'm allowed to use them even though I can see in the dark. When I'm seeing in the dark, everything is colorless, and I love colors because I'm part RainWing, too.

I think I just heard a soft noise outside my room. I open my ice-slab door silently and peer out, coming face to face with a young messenger, probably the son of a noble. "Are you Waterfall?" He inquires, a little hesitantly. I nod, and he replies, "Well then, Her Majesty Queen Glacier has requested to speak with you."

* * *

The messenger and I pad along a spacious hall, with a door every once in a while. About five minutes and three turns later, we arrive at a set of double doors. I recognize these doors from my previous visit to Queen Glacier, and they send chills through my body even though I'm not cold. I'm about to see the queen of the IceWings again! The young messenger knocks quietly, and soon the doors open wide with a soft creaking noise. I can see the queen sitting regally on her icy throne, and I bow to her.

"Welcome, Waterfall," She greets me somewhat stiffly, but not unkindly. Dismissing the messenger, she continues, "How do you feel like your training is going? Iceberg tells me you're a decent student."

I can't help but smile. I vaguely remember that when I was a very young dragonet, not even a year old, an IceWing was promoted to work with the noble dragonets. He was apparently one of the dragons who found me when my parents died, and the queen was pleased with him for bringing back such a useful secret weapon, which I supposedly am. As soon as everyone found out about my unusual powers, I began to train with the other IceWing dragonets, leaning to control my frostbreath. All of us have to learn when to use it, how to call it up out of our throats, how to shoot it at long distances, how to shoot a lot of it, how to cure an accidental case, etc. I try hard in my classes, and I can use frostbreath as well as any IceWing. I'm glad that Iceberg, who is my teacher, has noticed that I'm keen to learn and that I want to prove myself. Through all of this, my classmates couldn't have been more welcoming. Other than one of the princes and a few older dragons, everyone has been kind, and apart from my scales, extra powers, and the story of my parents, I feel just like one of them.

I look up at Queen Glacier, wondering if I'm allowed to speak. Answering her question, I bravely pipe up, "It's going well, Your Majesty. I feel like I have mastered the art of frostbreath, and I practice my other powers in every chance I can get."

"Good. It is a shame that we do not have specialists to teach you in the arts of venom shooting and camouflage, and to help you fine tune your SeaWing powers. Well. Would you care to demonstrate your skills, here and now?"

I get the feeling that I don't really have a choice, but even if I do, I'd say yes anyway. Nodding, I stand awkwardly while my (well, sort of my) queen orders guards to bring ice slabs, furs, moon globes, and other things for me to use my frostbreath on, grab with my tail, camouflage myself in front of, and who knows what else. After everything is settled, the queen keeps two guards in the room to supervise, judge, and take notes on me. Now I'm starting to be nervous. However, I do as the queen tells me. "Freeze the sealskin, please,"

I do.

"Demonstrate how far you can shoot frostbreath." I step back so my back is against the wall opposite the items, and shoot a jagged breath of ice across the room. It covers the entire moon globe as the guards jump out of the way. But it's too late for one of them, and there's a tremor under our talons as the freezing air connects with a couple of her claws. I immediately leap forward to save her talon. I don't need Queen Glacier to order me to save one of my adopted tribe mates!

A tiny part of me is thinking, "Yay! You get to show your queen that you know how to heal frostbreath!" But I also think I should have been able to prevent this. What if I'd just waited a couple of seconds more before breathing it?

I snap out of my guilty thoughts as I see the poor guard double over in pain, clutching her frozen claws. When I reach her, she looks beseechingly at me. I'm surprised to see no anger in her eyes.

I scrape off the ice crystals from her talon, then whisper an ancient, simple healing proverb to it:

Stop the pain,

Heal the hurt,

Restore the life.

I pass my dominant talon quickly over the guard's claws, and all the pain leaves her face. She nods gratefully to me, and I smile back, pleased with myself once again.

"Thank you, Waterfall, for keeping calm through that ordeal. I do not blame either of you-" Her Majesty gestures to the guard and I in turn "-for what has happened, but Waterfall, you must remember to make sure the coast is clear, so to speak, before you breathe frostbreath. It can be deadly, even to IceWings. However, I am glad to see that you know how to heal accidental frostbreath cases." Queen Glacier remarks slowly, never losing her dignity.

We continue with the assessment. I pick up the frozen moon globe and a feather from an arctic tern with my tail, camouflage myself at a few different spots in the room, and hold my breath for half an hour (instead of a whole hour, which I can also do), because the queen can't take all day to test me. She concludes, "I will just have to trust that you can hold your breath for one hour and see in the dark, because I can not keep you here much longer. However, I would like to say that I am quite pleased with what I have seen from you today, and all of your powers will most likely prove to come in talony.

"So, Waterfall, I, Queen Glacier if the IceWings, extend an offer to you, my adopted daughter, on behalf of the tribe. You are suited well for this opportunity, and you are powerful, quick-witted, and respectful. I trust you greatly even though you were not born in this city, and even though you are not an IceWing.

"I would like to invite you to consider going into the rest of the continent to be a spy for us in the war. There would be no inherent danger to you, as you have camouflage and therefore could hide fantastically, and you would be able to withstand the heat well, because of your ancestry. You would learn much, and have to be very mature.

"But you may be tempted to join another tribe with dragons who are more...similar to you, and that is understandable. You must understand that you _cannot_ live in two kingdoms. You cannot be a member of two different tribes. If you join the RainWings or SeaWings, you will no longer be under my rule. I will respect you, but I will no longer be your queen if you are a part of another tribe. If you are seen in our kingdom, we will treat you as an intruder, not a friend.

"Waterfall, this is a wonderful opportunity for all dragons involved. Please consider it carefully, and tell me whether you are interested in three days' time. Think of all I have said. Do you understand?"

I take a deep breath. "I do, Your Majesty. Thank you for your trust and generosity."

"You're welcome. Be wise...and you may be dismissed." My queen, who I now respect more than ever, finishes.

I remember the way back to my room, so I go by myself in order to have time to think.

A spy...I want to see the world, but I do love the Ice Kingdom. What will I do now?

 **What _will_ she do now? What will _I_ do now? What will HAPPEN? Suspense-io! Isn't it funny how Waterfall's adopted tribe twisted the story of her parents so it seemed like the IceWings were the heroes? Can they be trusted? Who can? Anyone? I will update as soon as I can. Thank you, everyone! Please review! **


End file.
